FBI Director Sees Increasing Terrorist Interest in Cyberattacks Against US

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said that terrorist groups had begun discussing ways to hit Americans with a cyberattack, though he said plotting appeared to be in early stages. “We are picking up signs of increasing interest,” he said in evening remarks at the Aspen Security Forum. “It’s a small but potentially growing problem." Director Comey didn’t divulge what sort of cyberattack terrorist groups could be trying to design. US officials have spent years trying to protect things like water-treatment plants, electrical grids, and the banking system from debilitating cyberattacks, but they remain wary because criminal gangs and sophisticated nation-state hackers have proven adept at breaking through networks. He said a cyberattack against Americans had become a popular strategy for some terrorist groups that had found it difficult to infiltrate or recruit followers in the US.

Director Comey’s comments came as part of a wide-ranging discussion at the Aspen conference, a yearly gathering of government and industry officials and academics. The FBI director touched on encrypted messaging technology, threats posed by Islamic State and the lack of trust between some communities and members of law enforcement. But he avoided delving into some others, saying he had “plenty of opinions” about gun control “but I don’t want to share any of them.” He also was careful not to divulge much information about the continuing investigation into the recent killing of five military service members in Chattanooga (TN), by Mohammod Abdulazeez, the now-dead shooter whom Director Comey acknowledged hadn’t been on the FBI’s radar. “We have no indication he’s ever crossed our screen,” he said.